Cars 2 will be released in less than a week on Tuesday November 1. And since its the norm lately to offer highly anticipated releases in multiple formats, I thought I'd make a post on the different options available to you.

The cheapest option is to purchase a digital copy of the movie from iTunes for the low, low price of $14.99 for standard definition or $19.99 for one in HD. This is great if you're agoraphobic or just really dig going completely digital.

The next option up is just a no frills DVD copy of the movie for $16.99 from Amazon. The only extra you get is the Toy Story short Hawaiian Vacation and a new Mater's Tall Tales short Air Mater.

For $8 more, you can get an equally bare (in terms of extras) Blu-ray/DVD combo pack in either Blu-ray Packaging or DVD Packaging. Whichever version you choose will be the same price: $24.99.

The Toys'R'Us version of the combo pack will run you $29.99 and may be a bit more appealing for us LEGO fans. It includes an exclusive bonus disc with "LEGO Cars 2 Animated Shorts, Videos with the LEGO Cars 2 Designer, LEGO Cars 2 Trailer and More!" You can check out the animated shorts and the LEGO Cars 2 trailer on the Cars minisite on LEGO.com. I wouldn't be surprised if the all of the video content on the minisite made it onto the bonus disc.

Walmart's exclusive package for the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack will run you $29.96 and you get a Finn McMissile die-cast car which all signs point to being a normal version that is currently clogging up the pegs at every toy aisle you walk into. So basicall you're paying a $5 dollar premium for a $3 dollar toy on a bare bones combo disc release. The Toys'R'Us page doesn't specify whether or not the bonus disc is in DVD or Blu-ray format. If the Pirates of the Caribbean LEGO shorts are any indication, then I would guess it would be on DVD but don't hold me to it. I've been known to guess wrong.

At $31.99, the five-disc combo pack features the following: Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital Combo, and a Bonus disc. You get the same shorts as the DVD and Blu-ray release as well as Nuts and Bolts: A Sneak Peek of Cars Land, World Tour – Interactive Map, deleted scenes, short documentaries, and set explorations from the different cities in the movie.

Target's exclusive release of the movie is the five-disc combo, same as the one outlined above, but also features a snow globe that lights up. You pay a hefty premium for said globe, though, $49.99.

Amazon has their exclusive release, an 11-disc Director's Edition monster set for $79.99 which has the following: Cars DVD, Cars Blu-ray, Cars Digital Copy, Cars 2 DVD, Cars 2 Blu-ray, Cars 2 Blu-ray 3D, Cars 2 Digital Copy, Mater's Tall Tales DVD, Mater's Tall Tales Blu-ray, Mater's Tall Tales Digital Copy, and finally the Bonus Disc. The reason why it's called the Director's edition is that you also get a die-cast car of "John Lassetire", a Cars character based on the director John Lasseter. Die-cast car aside, if you're like me and haven't yet picked up the first Cars movie on disc before, this might be a good deal for you.

Lastly, Amazon is also offering a $7 savings if you order Cars 2 combo pack along with another Pixar combo pack dvd. Wall-E looks like a good choice.

I love extras, but I categorically REFUSE to buy a Blu-Ray disc to get them, when I don't own a Blu-Ray player. Apparently somebody has neglected to tell studios that it is STILL true that the MAJORITY of households do NOT have Blu-Ray, and it looks likely that that will STILL be the case for quite some time.

I HATE this recent trend of making meaningful extras ONLY available to people purchasing Blu-Ray. If you can't sell the technology on its own merits, PLEASE refrain from attempting to push it by withholding content from the majority of your audience.

Ah, well, looks like another bare bones DVD for me. At least it will be cheaper.